Tour de France Stage-by-Stage

2024 Tour de France route map

Want all the Tour de France stage profiles on one page? Here you go with some commentary on each stage too.

From now you can also find all these profiles and much more like race rules like time bonuses, the points scale for the green and polka-dot jerseys, time cuts and the prize money at inrng.com/tour bookmark it, or use the link from the menu at the top of the page.

Stage 1 – Saturday 29 June

Tirreno-Adriatico in a day, the race crosses the Apennines with a succession of climbs. With 3,600m of vertical gain, do we call this a mountain stage? Last July’s Basque opener went to the GC contenders and this is harder still. It will make for a nervous day with many worried the smallest of mistakes in positioning or handling could spoil everything.

Stage 2 – Sunday 30 June

Less mountainous than the previous day but with the best saved for last, two ascents of the spectacular Basilica di San Luca used in the one-day Giro dell’Emilia race before the finish in Bologna.

Stage 3 – Monday 1 July

A 230km stage, the longest of the race but with plenty to fill the airtime for TV viewers with talk of Paulo Conte, Fausto Coppi, or the wine and truffles of Alba before reaching Torino, or “Turin” to the French for a sprint, or “un sprint” as they say in French.

Stage 4 – Tuesday 2 July

Four days in and now a giant mountain stage to take the race back into France. Inevitable given the race has to get to France and they can hardly go via the coast to Nice. Still, they could have taken softer options. Instead it’s Sestriere and the Montgenèvre, they’re two long climbs you could drive a team bus up, ditto the Lautaret as well but you’ll have to park the bus here as here on it’s a much smaller road and steep as it passes 2,600m in altitude before the fast descent to Valloire, if a rider can crest this pass alone they’ve a good chance of staying away for the win.

Stage 5 – Wednesday 3 July

A sprint stage through the Alps rather than over them with some unmarked climbs along the way before a finish in Saint-Vulbas on the banks of the Rhone… and the shadow of the local nuclear power station.

Stage 6 – Thursday 4 July

A gourmet start in Macon passing plenty of vineyards and the home of chardonnay grapes plus more before a long procession to Dijon, mustard capital of France and beyond. All for a likely sprint.

Stage 7 – Friday 5 July

An important time trial on the Route des Grands Crus, celebrating the Côte de Nuit vineyards and on a course with some climbing and smaller roads too.

Stage 8 – Saturday 6 July

A sprint stage but a tiring one on roads that rise and fall all the time. French TV will go big on the history perhaps leaving international viewers flummoxed as Colombey-les-deux-Églises is famous for Charles De Gaulle, the exiled war leader and two-time President who famously – in France at least – came to see the Tour go past in his retirement only for the race to stop and pay tribute, the first and only time it’s halted like this (there have been roadside protests, rider strikes and other incidents but not a decision just to stop, chat and then race on). Anyway expect to hear this story and get helicopter shots of the Lorraine Cross before the sprint trains gather speed.

Stage 9 – Sunday 7 July

The most northerly stage of this year’s race and it starts and finishes in the same place, rare for a grand tour stage. The headline is 14 sections of gravel totalling 32km, of which nine are kept for the final 70km. Gravel is a catch-all label for unpaved roads, here it’s the same roads used by the women in the 2022 Tour when Marlen Reusser won and Mavi Garcia had a nightmare. It provides spectacle – perfect for a Sunday far from the mountains – and also a talking point: a chance to copy-paste old “does pavé gravel belong in the Tour de France?” debates. Some GC riders will fear this stage and the fear of the fear will heighten anticipation. There is a random element where, the wheel of fortune for some might spin, for others it’ll puncture at the worst moment. The hardest part of the stage is in the first half.

Stage 10 – Tuesday 9 July

After the first rest day things ease into a sprint stage to Saint-Amand in the middle of France, literally so as Bruères-Allichamps is supposed to be one of the geographic centres of France. Normally a quiet day but the Tour came here in 2013, the wind got up and the peloton was cut to ribbons.

Stage 11 – Wednesday 10 July

A big day for the breakaway, this should see a fierce start that could rage for hours as the move fights to go clear. The second half is a copy of the 2016 stage won by Greg van Avermaet during his golden summer, taking the stage, yellow jersey and later on Olympic gold so we’ll see who has ideas for the same here as they cross the Auvergne volcanos. It can also be a GC day as the Pas de Peyrol is a stiff climb.

Stage 12 – Thursday 11 July

200km to a sprint on a day with terrain that ought to encourage slow cycling and probably siestas for TV viewers amid scenery and – late arrival of summer permitting – sunflower fields.

Stage 13 – Friday 12 July

More siesta cycling is likely but the finish today has some climbs to spice things up before the inevitable, unavoidable finish in Pau but via a few late climbs.

Stage 14 – Saturday 13 July

Just 150km but packed with climbing. 70km on the flat is torture for the climbers hoping to go in the breakaway. Things start to climb with the Gavarnie valley leading to the towering Tourmalet. The charming Hourquette d’Ancizan is next before a descent to the valley and only a few kilometres on the valley floor before the surprisingly hard climb to Pla d’Adet with long 10-12% ramps at the start.

Stage 15 – Sunday 14 July

4,800m of vertical gain, the most of all the stages but here spread out over 198km and a 14 July festival. It’s up the Peyresourde via the steeper western side before the Menté and Portet d’Aspet via their steeper sides too. Next is the tricky Col d’Agnes which crosses over to the Port de Lers. A descent in two parts, the steep bit past the waterfall then it flattens out and then comes the valley floor, all plenty of time for the final drinks and gels. The Plateau de Beille summit finish has been called the Alpe d’Huez of the Pyrenees but that’s a stretch, it does start steep and has some wide hairpins but that’s about it, no ski resort at the top, just a car park – there’s a building… but it burned down recently – and no comparable views on the way. Selective though.

Stage 16 – Tuesday 16 July

A sprint stage with inevitable “watch out if the Tramontane and Mistral winds blow” warnings.

Stage 17 – Wednesday 17 July

This could be a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné with the long Eygues valley road from Nyons to Gap, the Col Bayard and then the combo of the Col du Noyer and the Superdévoluy… the finish did feature in the 2016 Dauphiné, and then as now the Noyer is the superior climb, breathtaking twice over for the scenery and the 13% section before the top.

Stage 18 – Thursday 18 July

This could go to the sprinters as it’s not a mountain stage even if it’s in the middle of the Alps. But by now anyone who weighs 70kg or more knows this is their last chance for a stage win and teams will send rider after rider in the breakaway, think of last July’s hectic stage to Champagnole won by Matej Mohorič for the template. It rides past the Serre Ponçon lake, scenic for cyclists and a windy spot for kitesurfers before the Demoiselles Coiffées climb before the finish 3.9km at 5.2% to split things up further. The approach to Barcelonnette is not the main road but uses a trickier side road too.

Stage 19 – Friday 19 July

4,600m of vertical gain which is beaucoup for just 145km and where the opening 20km are flat. The Col de Vars is much harder than the 5.7% average suggests, you can spot the flat middle section and the opening part to the Col de la Viste is more like 10%. Then comes the mighty Cime de Bonette at 2,802m which is over an hour of climbing and a good part of this above 2,000m altitude, daunting and normally a slog but the short distance stage might tempt moves some, otherwise Isola 2000 is the most of the Col de la Lombarde and a steep but steady climb to the ski station used by plenty of Nice and Monaco pro cyclists for altitude training.

Stage 20 – Saturday 20 July

Plenty of déjà vu from Paris-Nice on a day with very little rest. On paper this promises more fireworks with long climbs and twisty descents. But could it be a stage too far if some GC contenders sit tight fearing the following day’s time trial? Or the second order effect that they might hold back on Stage 19 too so that they have reserves for Stage 20 in case they’re needed here and for the TT, a scenario we’ve seen in many a back-loaded Giro; a flat stage would be a harder sell. Fingers crossed it’s close on GC and everyone’s up for it. It could be easier in July than March with improved form, it could roasting hot too.

Stage 21 – Sunday 21 July

A time trial via the Col d’Eze, the old ending of Paris-Nice. Just in case you’re wondering why the Tour de France finishes in Nice instead of Paris, it’s because of the Olympics, not so much a calendar clash, more the Tour finishing elsewhere gives Parisian policiers a rest before a busy period.

This is no parade-criterium stage but could be the race decider, that’s the dream scenario. It’s first time the race has ended with a time trial since 1989 when the Tour de France celebrated the 200th anniversary of the French revolution with a journey from Versailles to the capital and of course it was the closest-ever edition. The profile just doesn’t do the course justice, no way is it a level climb up and a fast descent back down, it’s more technical with plenty of rhythm changes and where taking the right line downhill wins time.

80 thoughts on “Tour de France Stage-by-Stage”

  1. Stage 2 “..two ascents of the spectacular Basilica di San Luca used in the one-day Giro dell’Emilia race before the finish in Bologna.”
    I’ve wanted to see ’em race this in the Giro dell’Emilia for years but never managed to get there. When they announced LeTour would do it, it was “time to make it happen!’ for us. Might be our only “live” viewing for the race as we’re on the road for Stage 3 and probably will skip getting back in a car to see the start of Stage 4. After that they’re in …France. I’ll get enough of that at the Olympic Games later…
    Hope all the GC contenders show up in reasonable shape so maybe (just maybe) we can avoid all the “Well, if MY guy had been there he woulda/shoulda/coulda…”
    Vive LeTour!

    • It’ll be fun with the Tour in Bologna but the Giro dell’Emilia on a late summer’s afternoon is great too, and more relaxed, in case anyone fancies a trip. It’s interesting as it’s an urban race in part, the climb starts in the city. So a potential tourist can visit Bologna and all it has to offer, enjoy lunch then walk to the climb to see the race. Not many other places offer as much in one day.

      • Agreed, but usually by late summer we’re kinda done with travels for awhile…that’s why so far I’ve failed to get there. I suspect I’ll be done with travel post-Olympics in Paris too, but just-in-case I have a list of things I’d still like to do, one is riding the entire signposted Eroica route over a few days with someone else hauling my luggage from lodging to lodging.
        Gotta do this kind of stuff before I’m too old!!!

      • I’ve walked up there through the colonnade, it’s a stiff climb but very evocative. I remember casting longing eyes at the defunct cable car! But it wouldn’t be the same going in a bus, as the tourist board now urges you.

        • I’ve walked down the road with the porticos and will be on the road side in July. It’s a tough old climb in stunning surroundings. Can’t wait!

          • “It is a nice walk too under the arches.”
            That’s what we’ll be doing, along with a gazillion others – fly in, spend the night, see the stage, spend the night and blast outta there the next day in a rental car. There will be some enjoying of the best fresh-egg pasta on earth as well 🙂

      • Thanks. It’s a funny thing – when you’re there live in-person you often know far less about what’s happening than a guy at home in front of his TV. But that guy can’t experience all the rest of it, something that dawned on me years ago while working the TdF vacation programs: I’d be watching the damn TV when the race was outside the hotel! WTF was I thinking?

        • I’m reminded of something that Cav said about the fact that most of the riders don’t really know what’s going on in the race once it breaks up in the mountains. Apparently, if you’re in the grupetto, finding out that a particular rider won the stage or has moved up on GC is a bit like being given news about a distant cousin.

          • Gotta give some props to Cavendish. I was on the climb to Cervinia on an edition of La Corsa Rosa, wet, cold, etc. and saw the Manx Missile finish….way behind as you’d guess. He looked miserable and probably could have easily packed-it-in but seemed determined to finish within the time limit and stay in the race. Another day I was glad to be there rather than just watching TV…despite the weather! Take that “CYA”!

  2. Thanks for the informed review INRNG.
    Looks like a lot of the action is scheduled for the back end. But never, ever ignore the lumpy, sticky roads of the Auvergne.

    • The Col du Perthus is short but very hard, and just after the two final kilometers of the Pas de Peyrol which are at 12%… Things could definitely happen there.

  3. Looking at this now with all the talk of will Vingegaard be ready, this looks rather good for him.
    If he can limit losses in stage 1, 4 and possibly 7, the big GC action will probably happen the 3rd week. Where he supposedly would be improving.

    Thank you for the overview

    • I think I read “Vingegaard won’t be at the Tour unless he is 100%” three times yesterday and heard it in two podcasts. Even if he is going it’s a good mind game on Pogačar to keep the doubt going. But given Visma’s troubles surely they’d take him even if he wasn’t 100%. Pick your percentage but a 90% Vingegaard, a 95% version etc is still capable of getting the results the team needs, and banking it all for the Vuelta too.

      • Agreed. There was another former winner who showed up a bit short of form not too long ago, but made a race out of it anyway. I’m hoping his rival can do the same in 2024. Meanwhile, Bernal seems to be getting back to his old self? Another major contender can’t hurt, even if I dislike his team.

        • Rather than deal with the fallout (no pun intended) from this, they should just ban TT bikes. Yes, I would ban them from every race, but on this course I’ll be amazed if everyone completes it. I think the vast majority of riders will be putting in a strong effort uphill (stronger than they normally would in a TT that means nothing to them) so that they can do the downhill more safely – that might be the saving grace.

          • Perhaps they’ll switch at the top? Toss the chrono contraption and hop onto an “aero gravel” bike with some fat slicks and big disc brakes to bomb the descent like in the old Savoldelli daze!!! I still lament the quick demise of the “descender’s prize” they tried at the Giro awhile back due to so many getting their chamois-in-a-bunch about safety. Last time I checked all the bikes have brakes so nobody goes down any faster than they want to.

          • Amen. Ban TT rigs from stage races.

            Time trials in stage races can be, and long were, ridden on the road bikes the rest of the race was raced on. Lets go back to that. Road races are for road bikes.

  5. They might want to hold that final TT on normal bikes if it’s got a difficult downhill, especially if it rains.
    I think Pog has chosen the perfect year to attempt the double, purely by chance, with Vin being injured. Rog still seems to have off-days, and I think he might be a bit past his best, while I’m unconvinced Eve will ever win GTs against opposition better than Enric Mas.
    Pog might be helped in this – if he’s fatigued from the Giro – by the junior-race length of most of the mountain stages.
    Ferdi, to answer your question from yesterday, what I meant by ‘make every second Vuelta significantly less mountainous’ was to have a GT with more classics-style stages and medium-mountain stages. I guess it might also have more time trialling. I don’t favour time bonuses.
    (Any of my posts that were anonymous yesterday were accidental – I keep forgetting to put my name now that it comes after the post – there were only two and both mid-conversation where it was obviously me.)

    • “I think Pog has chosen the perfect year to attempt the double, purely by chance, with Vin being injured. Rog still seems to have off-days, and I think he might be a bit past his best, while I’m unconvinced Eve will ever win GTs against opposition better than Enric Mas.”
      Seems that even IF your guy IS there, the coulda/woulda/shouldas will rain down…more than two weeks before Le Beeg Shew has even started 🙁
      PS-IMHO ALL TT’s should be held on “normal” bikes.

        • I certainly don’t have ‘a guy’ in cycling. Never have.
          Having said that, I want Pog to win because it’ll be quite a feat, and he’s a very exciting rider (when he has opposition of his own calibre).

          • If Pog wins the Tour, he surely would have to make an attempt at the Vuelta? And any real cycling fan would surely be salivating to see him try. It would be a historic achievement.

            Who doesn’t want to be alive to see great riders (try) make history?

          • Paul J wrote: “Who doesn’t want to be alive to see great riders (try) make history?”
            One would think pretty much everyone but some say “He loses points for his goofy childlike image though. Its hard to have a hero who looks, and acts, like a naughty choirboy.”
            Those people probably hated Peter Pan as children I guess? Perhaps they were dropped on their heads one time too many?

        • I guess you must not read the same stuff I do where that Danish guy is the second-coming-of-jeebus?
          One of those “hate the team, like the rider” for me – Pogacar is a RACER.
          Not a “numbers rider” not a “mow ’em down in the chrono, defend in the mountains” guy, not a guy who spends all day looking down at some electronic gizmo..but a guy who genuinely looks like he’s having fun (most of the time) knows how to ride a bike, seems to determine how the team is used at least as much as the DS’, never seems to blame anything/anyone else if he fails and thanks the team for their help either way.
          They’re rare, these racers…Julian Alaphillippe’s another one. Vincenzo Nibali was one as well. Too many these daze are just robots IMHO.

          • I guess not. I wouldn’t say anyone on here is vociferously pro Vingegaard. Pogacar is an exciting racer, no doubt and the Tour will be a far better race for his involvement. Whether he wins or not. He loses points for his goofy childlike image though. Its hard to have a hero who looks, and acts, like a naughty choirboy.

        • “Whether he wins or not. He loses points for his goofy childlike image though. Its hard to have a hero who looks, and acts, like a naughty choirboy.”
          WTF? The sport already has too many surly, all-too-serious pricks IMHO. This guy (in addition to being a RACER) is a breath of fresh air. Dunno where you live but here in Italy he showed up at Il Giro, wiped the floor with everyone with a smile and everyone in Italy that I know loved it. I guess you hated Sagan’s tattoo as well?
          I guess that’s the difference between you and me. And they call ME the cranky old man!?!?! 🙂

  7. Minor correction to the usually excellent vinous knowledge of our host. The vineyards between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin are definitely not producing Beaujolais. It’s the Côte-d’Or, the heart of red Burgundy, the ground zero for Pinot Noir. Elegance, panache and controlled power. So a great match for a TT. The prices for bottles around here are things they can only dream of in Beaujolais.

  8. I assume that I’m wrong In thinking that the souvenir Henri Desgrange is awarded to the first over the highest peak of the race which this year would be la come de la bonette. Can anyone enlighten me?

  9. I’m looking forward to seeing the race go over some familiar roads in stage 1 and starting stage 4 from St Jean, a town where I’ve spent a few days. Although it’s always rather dispiriting how the pros make light work of climbs that I’ve struggled up!

    Let’s hope for some wind to liven up the flat stages, of which there seem to be many this year.

  11. Pidcock must be licking his lips about stage 4 and a finish down the Galibier descent. I wonder how many times we are going to see a reprise of “that” descent in the run up to the stage?

    • On first glance I shared your thoughts on Pidcock and the stage 4 final descent but, for him to exploit it, he need to be in or close to the lead group at the Galibier summit. I just can’t see him staying with the best climbers to have that chance – though I’d like to be wrong!.

  15. Seems like there’s quite a few longish stages by recent Tour standards. That or my perception of long has changed over time.
    Also, re Stage 1, with a nod to oldDAVES calendar shake up ideas and with an accompanying risk of upsetting Larry, Gabriele and fans of stage racing… I’d be up for Tirreno-Adriatico being a one day race. It wouldn’t have to clash with Paris-Nice anymore, one day riders are in Italy for Strade Bianche and Milano-Sanremo, the terrain fits. Plus it doesn’t exactly take a week to get from one to the other.. just an idea.

    • It’s an idea, I’ll give you that. One that won’t go anywhere (thank gawd) but an idea. What’s wrong with having a race at the same time as Paris-Nice? Not everyone can race in that one and WTF is sacred about P-N anyway?
      How long have you been paying attention to pro cycling? 3 time World Champ, gawd knows how many green jerseys at LeTour and you’ve never seen or read about Sagan’s “Why So Serious?” tattoo?
      If you were a student at Zio Lorenzo’s school of cycling knowledge he’d be assigning a backpack load of remedial reading to the likes of you! 🙂

    • Since Larry promptly answered, I have to, also.
      I’ll give you a hint… never ruin something which is working great, or, as Larry would more mildly put it, why try to fix it if it ain’t broken.

      Taking PCS ranking as a (mere) proxy, which may work in comparative terms and when differences are notable, in the last 15 years Ti-Ad was more often than not among the top 5 races (*any* race) of the whole calendar (10/15 editions), whereas Pa-Ni, for example, made it “only” 6/15 times. The Dauphiné made it only *once*.

      To bin (or essentially so) one of your top 5 assets isn’t a good idea under any condition for anyone ever, I’d say, but even less so for cycling when some are speaking of having more clashes among top riders (not a bad idea, in itself) and apparently your modest proposal is to do away with one of the few occasions when that has been *already happening*.

      • At the risk of piling on – distance from Lido di Camaiore to San Benedetto del Tronto is over 400 kms via Google maps shortest route. That leaves out most of the interesting stuff usually included in T-A, including the steep “walls” of the Marche region. This is one of those “the more you look at it, the dumber it seems” ideas IMHO so I’ll stop there.

        • Haha. As I said, just an idea. Its nothing personal against Tirreno-Adriatico or the Italian nation, I’m just not at all bothered about 1 week stage races. I started this Dauphine with the intention of watching it, but didn’t. I always thought the short lived ‘Tour de Yorkshire’ would have been much better as a one day race.

  16. Thanks again for the informative posts.
    After the first 4 unusually tough stages, there should be a well sorted GC, so guys looking for a breakaway win should have lost an “appropriate” amount of time. The race organizers must be hoping that one rider is not already minutes ahead of everyone else by stage 5.

    The last stage TT has it’s pros and cons but what the heck happens if it rains? Could be chaos and some guys will definitely not want to race.

    • Any bike that is unsafe to ride in the rain is an unsafe bike.
      Particularly if professional bike riders can’t even ride it.
      This is a preposterous state of affairs.
      What happens if they decide to ride on TT bikes because it’s not raining and the forecast is good, and then it rains? Answer: they’ll blame the weather.
      Thankfully, the CPA is focused on the terrible dangers of riders being cold and wet.

      • I think the GC guys will not be riding a TT bike on the last stage, but I was more worried about the dangers of a wet course. (There have been some terrible crashes on TT bikes when guys are just riding recons and not to mention the restricted vision because of “Star Wars” aero-helmets)

        • I think the only way the GC guys will not be on TT bikes is if they are not allowed to.
          The first climb will be faster on TT bikes, ergo they’ll be on them.
          They could then switch before the steep climb of Col d’Eze and so do that and the descent on a normal bike. But then there are about 6km of flat at the end of the stage, so they won’t do that either.
          If it’s wet, it’s perfectly safe to do it on a proper bike: they’re pro’s, they do that all the time. And if you can’t go as fast as you’d like, you go slower – skilled riding is a part of the sport.
          As for TT bikes in the wet… I don’t know. But if there are crashes on TT bikes, the fault will be with the bikes.

    • My guess is they’ll choose a bike they think will work and get on with it? I was in Rome when they finished the Giro there and Menchov was in pink. I think he managed to fall off but IMHO it’s up to the rider to use what they think best for the course rather than whine about it? As far as I remember nobody was killed or seriously injured that time.
      Meanwhile, we’ll see ’em handing out “yellow cards” for bad behavior, including giving an interview while in the race? I’m really wishing “CYA” Hansen would go back into his cave.

      • Yes, the Tour is too big to stop and special measures will be in place to help people vote in Troyes and around the route, including keeping voting stations open for longer so that once the race has passed and the roads reopened people can drive to vote etc.

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